Algonquin to stay out of Dist. 300 boundary plans

It's probably time for one Algonquin parent to come up with a Plan B.

Parent Tim Fisher approached the village board in December, asking if members would take a stand in ongoing school boundary changes proposed in Community Unit District 300.

Village President John Schmitt promised to get back to Fisher and told his fellow members to do research on each proposal before supporting one plan over the other.

Now, in an e-mail to Fisher, Schmitt writes that the board may sit this one out.

"I cannot speak for the village board, but I do not foresee the board taking a stand on one plan versus another," Schmitt wrote. "The village does not usually interfere or even take an official stand on another taxing body's decisions."

He further stated that each board member had an opportunity to get involved by participating in the district's public forums.

Fisher says he's disappointed with Schmitt's answer.

"I think this is a very poor decision for the eastern portion of the village," Fisher said, adding that he'll continue to let affected areas know about the problems he sees with one specific boundary plan.

The school district is considering three proposals that aim to alleviate crowded middle and high schools, by shifting students to under-capacity schools.

The scenario at the crux of Fisher's concern is proposal No. 6, which would switch a total of 628 students to other schools.

He fears that scenario would hurt diversity, creating a school -- Jacobs High School -- for middle class and mostly white students and the other -- Dundee-Crown High School -- for low-income and mostly minority pupils.

Meanwhile, the last time Algonquin publicly involved itself in school boundary discussions was in the 1990s when the school district discussed sending Algonquin high school students to both Dundee-Crown and Jacobs.

The controversial plan eventually went through -- previously, Algonquin students attended only Jacobs.